Gemini
by Nacroy
Summary: By the orders of Aizen, Orihime had been given a special task.
1. Washtower and what's in it

I have published this fic on my AO3 profile as well.

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She was confused and a little afraid perhaps, of an inevitable meeting that was about to take place. The cryptic words of Sosuke Aizen kept bouncing around her head like a rubber ball that was thrown a little too hard and now caused havoc wherever it hit. Lead her to them, hopefully they'll find each other entertaining enough to not cause trouble, he said to Ulquiorra when the Arrancar came to take her back to her confinement.

Who are they? Why would she find them entertaining and vice versa? As far as she knew Las Noches was occupied only by an army of Arrancar and the three traitor captains who fled Soul Society after causing chaos by orchestrating Rukia's execution. Maybe they were the ones she was supposed to keep company? She knew that Shinigami didn't get along with Hollows, perhaps they needed someone to entertain them?

Orihime hoped this was not the case. Being in presence of such powerful people made her feel sick and she had no way of defending herself.

Now she had noticed that they are leaving the main dome of Las Noches and entered one of the many small towers that surrounded it. The ceilings hung lower and the air felt less heavy with Arrancar reiatsu. It was quiet and the smell of fresh laundry was filling the corridor. It felt strangely like… home.

"Where are we?" She asked Ulquiorra who seemed to enjoy the illusion of peace that was surrounding them.

"Washtower 4.44." He replied without even sparing her a glance.

"Washtower?" Oddly enough, Orihime found the concept of Arrancars doing laundry quite funny, but it made a lot of sense, the entire army was draped in white uniforms. Obviously they needed a place to wash their clothes, white fabric gets dirty very fast, after all.

They walked ahead for some time, passing a few wide gates that were scattered at large distances on the both sides of the long corridor. Sometimes a muffled sound of a big washing machine could be heard from the other side. After a few minutes they had come at the end of the corridor and stood now in front of a small door and no sound could have been heard from behind them. She found herself holding her breath as Ulquiorra pushed down the handle and slowly entered the room. Reluctantly, she had followed right behind him, with her head bowed, preparing herself for the worst but as soon as she was inside, the heavy reiatsu of the two captains she was expecting to be waiting for them here was nowhere to be felt. There was something else here however, another set of souls which emitted a bit of reiatsu. It was weirdly familiar and yet very different. At that she had lifted her head and for a moment was standing in her spot dumbstruck. Of all the things she was expecting to see behind those doors, this was definitely not one of them.

"U-Ulqiorra-san… are these..?" Orihime stuttered, quite unable to believe what she was about to say.

"Yes." He replied without missing a beat, as he had found it quite obvious what she was asking about. "Don't add honorifics to my name." The Arrancar lectured her with a frown on his face. Only she didn't see him frowning because she was staring at the two toddlers who were sitting in the centre of a white room, and looking right back at her. Their eyes and hair were chocolate brown, and they both looked identical. She could tell they were not Arrancars because they were not sporting any weird pieces of mask anywhere near their faces, nor did they emitted any hollow reiatsu, besides, they really did resemble _that person_. She bend her neck to the right as if to look at them from another angle.

"Aizenlings…" She murmured.

An Arrancar nurse who had been watching them from the corner of the room snorted in amusement, which prompted Ulqiorra to look at him.

"She's going to replace you." The Espada announced, which clearly had been a good news for the nurse as he straightened up and saluted his general with a satisfied smile on his face, or at least the part of it that wasn't covered by a mask.


	2. What a horrible thing to do

Warning for violence.

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It's been several days since Ulquiorra introduced here to his master's little daughters.

At first she tried to object, pointing out that she had no experience with little kids and was unsure if she knew how to properly take care of them but her warden was unrelenting.

"The meals will be brought to you three times during 'daily hours'. Bathroom is to the right, closet is to the left-"

"My left or yours?" Orihime interjected.

"My left." He replied. "They're not allowed to leave this room, also, don't be noisy." With that he turned on his hills and, along with the other Arrancar, left the room.

That was all. He didn't even say what they like to eat, or when they should be going to sleep or how old they are… what happened to their mom? They seemed to be around two, maybe three years old, but she wasn't sure. She hadn't seen him, nor Aizen since then, only the servant who kept bringing them food and clean clothes at assigned hours. She was given an Arrancar uniform with a note (probably from Ulquiorra) with an order to put it on and give her old wardrobe to the person who brought her a new uniform. Before they left she managed to get out of the staff member some information about the girls's names. Apparently they were called Narya and Nenya. How ridiculous, Orihime thought. Was Aizen Sosuke out of ideas or is he a king of nerds? Well, clearly he likes The Lord of the Rings a lot.

Now she was sitting with the kids on a round, grey rug and watching them play with a jar filled with sand and buttons. Thankfully, children really will find the oddest things entertaining. The Stronghold was not made to host toddlers, they didn't have any toys nor playgrounds,and there wasn't even much color in this place, all the walls were white. It was depressing.

In a corner stood a large bed draped in white linen, and above it there was a window through which moonlight was pooling in and illuminating the poorly lit room. Orihime's gaze turned towards it and she started thinking of putting the girls to sleep. She was getting a little drowsy herself and she noticed that Nenya's head had been rolling to the side a little, and she'd became less talkative. Not that the girls were very vocal in the first place, no, they were oddly quiet and when she had met them for the first time they didn't seem to be wary of her at all, like most of small children would be when faced with a total stranger. It was very suspicious and she made a mental note to ask Ulquiorra why are they so unusually obedient, lethargic even.

She caught the jar Narya sent rolling to Nenya. "Let's go to sleep." She said with a hushed tone and set the jar aside. The girls just looked at each other and Nenya murmured a quiet "okay" in response. They must have been really tired of all the heavy reiatsu buzzing around them for days without a break. Doesn't Aizen know this is taking a toll on his own children? She was sure he could have hidden them somewhere safer.

Orihime's attention was brought back by the girls who started to climb onto her lap. Oh, how sleepy they were! Not good, she must have overlooked the bed time again. It was really hard to tell the hours of the day, or night, when the entire world was drowned in an eternal midnight. Another thing that kept setting her internal clock off track was the fact that Las Noches never slept. The Arrancar who lived here were active through the entire 24 hours every day without a break. She was aware of their harsh reiatsu flowing through the walls and filling their room all the time and it was exhausting.

Just as she was about to get up and lead Nerya and Nanya to bed there came a knock on the door and Ulquiorra announced his entrance. He walked in with the same Arrancar who, she assumed, had been previously taking care of the kids.

"Lord Aizen summons you." He stated while the other hollow walked towards her to pick up the twins.

"What for?" Suddenly, she was feeling very protective about them and she had wrapped wer arms around their sleeping frames.

"You will find out when you will get there. Hand the twins to Narrquez and stop delaying the meeting." The Espada gestured to his subordinate who knelt next to her and pried her hands off of the kids.

Orihime's heart sunk to her stomach, she was tired and worried and as much as she wanted to ask Aizen about his daughters, she just didn't have the strength to do it now. But Ulquiorra was having none of it, his master's order was the law for him and whatever he had commanded, she had to follow. She pulled herself up on her feet and watched as the servant was putting Nenya to bed right next to her sister. When he was about to let her go and pull the covers over her, she stirred, opened her eyes and, of course, started crying. In that moment the events had taken a terrible turn as the hollow whom their warden named Narrquez focused a torrent of his spiritual pressure on the child until she ran out of breath and couldn't make anymore sounds.

The sight had woken Orihime up from her dazzled state and she immediately put her shield between the servant and the kids, then, she ran up to him and punched him straight in the nose without even giving it a second thought. What she just saw made her livid and she turned rapidly towards Ulquiorra who was still standing by the door and waiting for her. He was wearing a blank expression, only his eyes were directed towards his underling, scanning him for the possible damage.

"What are you doing?" She asked the Espada, with a shaking voice. That seemed to bring his attention back to her.

"About what?" He asked, sounding bored and disinterested in the entire scene that just took place in front of him.

These words made her blood run cold, she stood there for a second and stared Ulquiorra in the eyes. "... you allow this?" She asked in disbelief.

"It's a disciplinary met-"

"It' abuse!" She yelled, completely forgetting about the twins. She had never felt so angry at someone in her entire life. How could he let something like this happen!? But before she could say anything else a muffled sob came from behind her. At once she turned back and sat on the bed next to the girls. She hugged them and kissed the tops of their heads. "Oh… I am so sorry." She cooed while the toddlers started to doze off again.

Ulquiorra grew impatient and took a few steps in their direction. " I am not going to tolerate your hissy fits. Lord Aizen is waiting."

"I'm not going." She replied. "I will not leave them with this hollow, or any other for that matter."

"I was ordered to bring you to the lord, woman, and I will do it even if I'll have to bind you and drag you to him by your ankle." It was visible that her warden was slowly becoming very annoyed. His eyes were narrowed and the frown he had permanently worn on his face seemed to have deepened.

"If he wants to see me so badly, then he should come here." She said while paying no heed to irritated Arrancars who were closing in on her. "I will be sure to tell him what are you doing with his children..."

"It was the Lord, who instructed us to do that." Narrquez disclosed while he was rubbing his nose.

Orihime's body went stiff. He had done _what_?! The revelation had scared her, it seemed to her now that the man who currently rules over Hueco Mundo has no care even of his own family. Why?

She had no time to ponder on her question any longer because her body got violently jerked off of the bed. She yelped at the sudden jolt of pain coming from Ulquiorra's grip on her forearm.

"I'm not leaving them with him!" She hissed and tried to fight back, however, her struggles were fruitless as the Espada had thrown her out of the room with brute force. She fell onto the hard floor and rolled a few meters away from the entrance of the room and the Arracnar followed slowly after her and closed the door. He took a few steps towards her and lifted her by the collar of her white uniform.

"I will not be repeating myself, woman." He looked her in the eyes and she saw a cold gleam behind his pupils. "You will not make the Lord wait for you any longer." As he was saying that, her collar was released from his grip and Orihime stumbled back. She was too shocked to say or do anything and only nodded at Ulquiorra when he had finished speaking. She had no choice but to follow him back to his master's chambers.


	3. An Uncanny Combination

Sorry for taking so much time to write this.  
!warning for not too graphic description of gore!

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The closer they moved towards the main dome of Las Noches, the heavier Aizen's reiatsu seemed to get. It was a very specific kind of spiritual pressure, melancholic and warm, but not the kind of warm that emanated from a loving hug or friendly smile. It was a dry, choking warmth one could feel when they entered an abandoned hut in the middle of the desert, full of ragged linen, remnants of furniture and memories of a family that once lived there; a low hum of abandonment and decay. It was the first time Orihime actually felt it as opposed to her previous audience with the Lord, when his power was suddenly unleashed onto her without a warning and then withdrawn just as fast. Now when she was given time to get used to it, she could feel little details that made his reiatsu very unique.

She trotted behind Ulquoirra without uttering a word, still shaken by his previous attack, it scared her enough to make her keep any questions and remarks to herself this time. The arm he had gripped her by still throbbed with dull pain, and it made her worry that the bone might actually be fractured. It would be best for her to check up on it before going to sleep, in case it would need healing.

First however, she would have to kick out their substitute nurse. The girls are sleeping alone with that Arrancar right now, and the thought of the skinny Hollow made her blood boil. To think her captors would be able to do something like that! It was unfathomable for her that Aizen would let his soldiers use force on his own children, or maybe that Narrquez was lying? But would Ulquiorra let him lie about something like this? Maybe it's actually a good thing that the Lord of Las Noches had summoned her… maybe he wants her to teach these Arrancar how to take care of small children… ? Who is she kidding? Of course he doesn't need her to do something like that, it's all about the Hogyoku! Everything is happening so much because of it, she wouldn't be surprised if he cared more about the orb than his kids, he didn't even bother with providing them with basic stuff, like toys or protection from hostile reiatsu.

Orihime's face heated up, she was getting more and more agitated from thinking about Aizen's poor parenting skills, or complete lack of thereof. It's not like she had any, but the fact that she's more concerned about the kids' living conditions than than their father was very telling!

For a brief moment she got so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice when Ulquiorra halted, and almost walked straight into him. Fortunately, he didn't seem very bothered with her tendency to drift off for a while.

They stood in front of a slim door without a handle and the Arrancar had knocked on it softly, and announced their arrival. To her dismay, the door did not swing open to the side, but were lifted up, like the ones she saw in science fiction movies. Now, that was weird. Why was here a different type of door than everywhere else she's been so far?

Her warden stepped in and Orihime had followed the suit, quietly keeping close to him.

They entered a dimly lit room, not overly spacious, but not small either; a lone, tall window which was facing the northern wing of the stronghold was now covered with a long curtain that blocked the moonlight from entering the place. The floor was covered with polished tiles and the walls were dark and naked, there were a few shelves stacked with books and, Orihime guessed, notebooks, next to them stood a desk covered with more notebooks and loose sheets of paper by which the Lord of Las Noches sat. He didn't seem to notice them at first, so focused on his work he was, and she started wondering if Ulquoirra shouldn't, by any chance, be bringing his master's attention to them. She wanted to be done and over with this as soon as possible, and come back to the girls. The memory of that Arrancar pushing his spiritual pressure on one of them was still fresh on her mind and it was causing her to worry.

All of sudden the scribbling noise had stopped and Aizen stood up from his desk, as he turned towards them his gaze settled on Orihime. He twisted his lips into a subtle frown and looked at Ulquiorra, clearly disappointed.

"She was resisting." The Espada answered the unspoken question that was clearly showing on their Lord's face, and it puzzled Orihime. Wasn't he expecting her to come here? Why was he looking at her like there is something wrong?

"Don't go this far again." Aizen said and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, which confused her even further. He shot Ulquiorra another short glace and ordered him out.

The door shut silently behind her warden's back and the room fell silent. Without hesitation he had closed the distance between himself and his prisoner and brought a hand up to her face. Startled by sudden display of intimacy between them Orihime held her breath and tried not to look into his eyes. There was something about them, something hypnotic and sad, she had noticed it when she was first brought to the fortress and presented in front of the throne.

A chill ran down her spine when Aizen had lifted the handkerchief to her face and slowly wiped her nose with it and handed it to her after he was done. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw blood stains on the white fabric.

"So you haven't even noticed yet?" He said nonchalantly, sounding more like he was talking to himself and not to his guest. "Understandable, you're still shaken." He noted while his hand now ventured towards her head and he appeared to be smoothing her hair back into place. Apparently they got a little disarrayed after Ulquiorra had thrown her out of the room.

That's right! The kids! The Arrancar are mishandling the twins! She has to tell him, get him to do something.

"Uh… why am I here?" She asked, unable to put the thoughts that were scattered around her mind into a coherent sentence. Disappointing. This conversation wasn't supposed to look like this.

He stood silent at first, scanning her from the top of her head downwards and back up, and then the corners of his mouth had lifted slightly. "There's something I'd like you to fix." Aizen replied and in that moment the doors, to what appeared to be his study, had lifted up again and a table was pushed in by one of the staff members. There was something on it although she could not tell what was it supposed to be, because the item in question was covered with a long, black sheet. A sense of dread went through Orihime when the smell of death coming from the mysterious object had reached her. Wide-eyed she frantically turned her head in Aizen's direction but her bewildered expression did not seem to have any impact on him.

Without taking Orihime's reaction into account, he gestured to the servant to unveil the remains which were laid out on the metallic surface. The sight made his prisoner gasp in horror and hide her face in the blood stained handkerchief he had handed her a few minutes ago.

By the smell she had expected to see something very unpleasant but expectations alone were not enough to prepare her for something like this, especially not in such a short amount of time.

It sure was a corpse, but it was incomplete. She'd seen a lot of gruesome injuries and missing limbs but right there, in front of her laid just a lower part of a person. It was still relatively fresh and the only reason the blood wasn't leaking out of it was because the edges seemed to be scorched. It looked like the upper half was just blasted off and the stench of blood and burnt flesh made her turn away entirely. She closed her eyes and shook her head as the sudden wave of nausea took over her body and she felt like she was about to collapse, but before her knees gave out Aizen's wrapped his arm around her upper torso and pulled her closer into a semi-embrace.

"Fix her. Bring her back to her previous state." He pressed his face against the side of her head and whispered the command directly into hea ear.

"Ugh… I-I'm not sure if I can… " She stuttered against his shoulder and leant more into him while the world around her began to spin and all muscles in her body went numb. The sudden avalanche of stress combined with shock from her previous dealings with Ulquiorra was now starting to take a massive toll on her and Orihime felt a migraine building up rapidly at her temples.

"Of course you can. I know you can." Aizen started to slowly turn her back towards the gruesome remains and placed both hands on her shoulder. "I'll be with you." His voice rang from behind her, now reassuring and low. He had pushed her closer to the table and squeezed her shoulders lightly to signal to her that it's time to begin.

His pretense had encouraged her enough to lift one hand and call forward the pair of faerie who were responsible for handling the rejection process, but still, she kept pressing the handkerchief over her nose and mouth with the other.

"Good." He praised and pressed his chest against her back, his own hands were slowly sliding down her forearms and back up to her shoulders. "The sooner you will finish, the faster you will be allowed to go back."

Within few minutes the remains of an Arrancar slowly started to come together, piece by piece small parts of flesh were aligning next to each other and gradually erasing the burnt edges on the skin. Orihime felt as Aizen leaned forward and the side of his face nearly touched hers. When she gave in to the temptation to look at him, it struck her how happy he looked. He was focused on the sight in front of them, his eyes glimmered with excitement and his lips were slightly parted. She decided that studying his appearance for a while was a far better option than staring at the corpse in front of them. He was indeed very pleasant to look at, long and dark eyelashes, brown eyes and hair, he was freshly shaven and smelled of soap and clean laundry. I was such a shame that he was her enemy. Someone blessed with such intelligence and power could do so much good for the world.

After admiring him for a while she turned her attention back to the table, to check the progress she was making. A big part of the dead person's missing half had already been brought back, the only things that were still missing were the head, and an arm but when she was about to focus on them she felt as a wave of fever washed over her entire body. In that moment Aizen tore his gaze away from the subject she was working on and pressed Orihime firmer against himself to stop her from collapsing. She had nearly blacked out while she heard him mutter "might be worth a try" and take a hold on her wrists.

"Orihime, can you hear me?"

She nodded slightly but did not reply.

"Good." He said. "Take a deep breath and try not to fall unconscious. This is going to make you feel like you're underwater. Don't resist."

Orihime took in the instruction without fully comprehending them, she ran out of stamina and the stress had amplified her need to slip out of sync with reality. Aizen slowly lifted up her arms, after a few seconds she felt the warmth starting to emanate from his palms infiltrating her hands. For a moment she thought that her tired mind was playing tricks on her but then her headache and the feeling of numbness were gone in an instant and her body started to feel unusually light. Ayame and Shun-o's golden shell began to glow brighter than ever.

"Oh look. It actually works. I should have done it at the beginning." He stated with no real emotion in his voice and the body in front of them had been completed before she in a blink of an eye.

She stared at the cadaver in front of her, wide-eyed and at loss of words. Had he just synchronised his own reiatsu with her? She never thought that something like this was even possible.

An Arrancar soldier with short, blond hair was lying her back, her muscles twitching here and there before she opened her eyes and sat up while frantically running her hands around her chest and head. She then started turning around, disoriented and scared as if she was looking for an escape route until she had spotted her master standing in front of her.

"A-A-A-Aizen sama!" The soldier jumped from the table and knelt in front of him while her body was still shaking. "Grimmjow was-!?"

"Stop yelling at me." He interjected with a clearly displeased expression and pushed Orihime between himself and his bewildered subordinate. "You should be thankful to our guest for aiding me in bringing you back."

"I- But-" The Arrancar struggled to gather her words at the sight of a short auburn-haired, human girl, which made Aizen's scoff deepen slightly. At the sight of her master's disdain, the soldier quickly bowed her head so low to the ground that her forehead was brushing over the perfectly polished tiles. "I Menoly, am eternally grateful to you, for… for saving me from death!" She yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Uh, it's ok." Orihime blushed and outstretched her hand to encourage Menoly to get up, but the panicked Arrancar turned her questioning gaze towards her Lord once again. She was scared to touch someone who seemed to be held up in such high regards by the man who could incinerate the Espada with his spiritual pressure alone.

Aizen in turn, looked back at the table and the servant who brought it into his study. The frail staff member was standing there completely still through the whole ordeal, patiently waiting for new orders to come. Then again he brought his attention towards Menoli. "How are you feeling?"

"Very good, Sir!"

"Go back to your quarters then. If you notice something is out of place, report it to me immediately." The Lord ordered and nodded at the servant to take the table away.

The soldier sprang up to her feet and then bowed again with her fists clenched at her sides. She seemed to be unnerved by something, but before Orihime had a chance to offer her some support Menoli straightened her back and strode out of the room, followed by the servant who quietly pushed the heavy looking table behind her.

"Um, did I offend her?"

"There's no need to concern yourself with her opinion. Have you brought anyone back to life before?" Aizen asked and placed his palm slightly under her cheek. His eyes bore into hers and he started to slowly stroke the side of her mouth with his thumb.

The study became very quiet as she was struggling to tear her eyes away from his alluring gaze. She never felt so vulnerable in front of anyone up until now, not even Kurosaki-kun could make such a mess out of her just by staring at her… until she noticed how similar his facial features are to his children. They looked like mini copies of him. This observation seemed to wake her from her enamoured state; she managed to compose herself and noticed that he was waiting for an answer to his question.

"I haven't done something like this! Ever!" The girl shook her head which prompted her Lord and captor to withdraw his hand. In that moment she stiffened and her eyes began to widen as she slowly came to realization of the magnitude of her deed. She just brought someone back from the dead…

"You did a splendid job, then. Also, know that your ability to withstand and host my reiatsu makes you more useful to me than anyone else in this stronghold." He praised her with a satisfied smile on his face but she couldn't tell if his words of approval held any truth to them.

"T-thank you." Orihime stuttered and watched warily as Aizen made his way towards the desk and poured himself a cup of tea. "I never thought I could become a necromancer."

She saw him stiffen with the cup almost touching his lips. "... Necromancer?" He muttered and set down his tea. For a moment she was afraid that she had said something wrong but then he huffed a few times and ran a hand down his face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude-"

"It's fine." He broke her off and took his teacup again. "I'm glad you've come to me Orihime. Before we part, would you like some tea? I think you deserve a prize." The Lord smiled one more and was about to call a servant but she had stopped him.

"No, thank you. I think it would be better if I just came back to the girls, who knows what that Arrancar will do to them if they wake up-..." It just occurred to her that now is her chance to question the father of the twins! There was so many things that she wanted to know, needed to know, even!

"If they wake up, what then?" He bent his elegant neck slightly to the right, prompting her to finish the sentence.

"If they wake up, they will start crying and the Arrancar who watches over them will silence them by force… "

"If you're talking about using reiatsu on them I can assure you that it does not bring them any harm. I don't want them to attract attention of the hollows who live here." Aizen said without much interest in his voice and took a sip of tea.

"But it does harm them! You can't force them to repress their feelings like that, what if they will get sick?" Orihime flailed her hands in the air in anger. "How are they supposed to grow up healthy if you're limiting them at such a young age?"

Her sudden outburst managed to agitate him and in an instant the mood in the room had changed as he closed the gap between them, shutting her mouth by pressing the rim of his cup against the bottom of her jaw, which also prompted her to look directly up at his face again.

"You dare to question me?" He whispered dangerously and it made her breath hitch. She could feel goosebumps rising on her skin and a sudden need to escape entered her mind. They stood like that for a while until he finally lowered his cup and took a step back. "If this is of any consolation to you, they will soon be free from this place and then they'll get to cry as much as they want." He sighed and walked away. "You're dismissed."

At those words she turned towards the door and ran out with tears in her eyes, barely spotting Ulquiorra who had been already waiting for her by the entrance to Aizen's study. He didn't say anything and merely walked in front of her to lead her back to the washtower.


	4. The Heart

I apologise for the delay but as you can see, these chapters are kinda getting out of control length wise and it's getting harder for me to write them in time. So you can expect this fic to be updated approx every two weeks beCAUSE HOLY SHIT I'M NOT USED TO WRITING THIS MUCH.

This chapter still is not written in the way I would like it to be since it would take more time and words and bullshit !

I have edited it but keep in mind that I don't have a beta so there are probably some things that could have been written better. I'm probably going to revise it later but for now I'll post it just because I don't want to keep stalling lol

There is also a scene that include some major graphic... stuff... well it's pretty gruesome and I would not advise reading this story if you get triggered by gore because it tends to take some pretty disturbing turns and I'll probably change the rating on this.

* * *

Two nights had passed since Orihime's last encounter with Aizen, or so she thought. It was hard to measure time in Hueco Mundo because there were no sun to start the days and the moon was always fixed in the same spot on the starless sky. What an odd phenomenon, she thought, where did all the stars go? If there's a moon clearly visible on the sky, then there must be a star of which light it's reflecting. Here was another mystery to which he could know the answer to. This was actually quite fascinating and she wondered about how would her physics professor react if he was here. The thought of a bunch of scientists freaking out over the empty night sky hovering above Hollow's realm made her grin like a fool. Researching this seemingly dead environment would be a lot of fun. Perhaps they would learn something that could help them explain certain events in the World of the Living?

A pillow slap in the face had ripped her out of her daydreaming. It seemed that Nenya and Narya were making a mess out of the sheets. They were throwing pillows at each other and rolling in the blankets right next to her, giggling like it was the funniest thing in the world. Orihime briefly recalled her meeting with their father three days ago, wondering about his last words before he kicked her out of his study. What did he mean by saying that they will be free from this place? Is he planning to finally move them to some more friendly area?

Before she got to ponder too much about the cryptic words of the Lord one of the girls had wriggled herself onto her lap, panting and sweaty, and the sight of her damp shirt made her frown.

"Okay, that's enough." She stated while wrapping her arms around the child and the other had crawled up to them. "You two need to get cleaned up. Let's give you a bath."

As soon as the word "bath" had left Orihime's mouth the kids gave a happy cry and Nenya pushed herself off the bed and ran to the bathroom shortly followed by Narya who had slipped out of her guardian's arms and rushed behind her sister. Before Orihime managed to catch up to them, the girls were already starting to take their clothes off.

"Wait! Not so fast. There is no water in the bathtub yet." She gestured towards a pristine white tub placed in on the other end of the bathroom.

"Un." Nerya pointed at the faucet, apparently not remembering how this particular item was called.

"This is a faucet… or a tap!" Their guardian informed, choosing a shorter word to describe the shiny piece of pipe sticking out of the wall. "Come here, help me turn the water on." She said and picked up one of the toddlers but as soon as she did that the other demanded an equal treatment as well, obviously jealous of her sister's chance to turn the cork. "Just a second, you're going to twist the other one." Orihime tried to calm down the impatient child.

It had taken some time to give each twin an opportunity to play with the tap and fill the tub with not too hot, and not too cold water but after all was said and done and both of them were out of their sweaty clothes and splashing in the water, she sat down next to the bathtub and watched them play. Babysitting actually wasn't a hard thing to do, it just required a lot of time and energy which she had more than enough since she was trapped in an enemy's territory without anything else to do. She wondered briefly about what she is missing at school and if she will ever be able to go back there and see her friends again. Studying was something that she was more than good at and being ranked 3rd in the table of best students in school gave her a high possibility of receiving a stipendium, which she was hoping to obtain for some time already, but such a long absence would probably remove her from the long list of candidates. Who would have thought that she'll actually miss doing her homework?

A splash of water was hurled at her face, waking Orihime from her thoughts once again.

"Oh don't do that. The floor is going to get wet." She pointed at the wet tiles but the kids didn't listen, they were far too entertained by trying to dissolve the foam that was surrounding them from every direction. There was so much of it, that it made her wonder if the soap that was given them was actually safe to use for children, but on the other hand the girls at least had something to play with. Nonetheless she put the question about the bathing supplies on the list of things she meant to ask Aizen about, or maybe Ulquiorra. He probably would know something like this since he's in charge of maintaining the washtower and providing them with all the essentials.

Speaking of essentials, she couldn't shake off the feeling that she had forgotten about something. Orihime turned her head around to take a good look at the bathroom, trying to spot something that could possibly be missing. It took her a few minutes to realize that she had forgotten to prepare clean clothes for the kids, and she's definitely not using the one they just had taken off. Her absentmindedness is such an annoying trait to have. Someday she's going to forget her own head! She glanced at the girls who were chatting and playing with the bubbles and made a decision to walk to the wardrobe and pick some fresh clothes and towels. It was placed on the side of their room, facing the entrance to the bathroom and there wasn't enough water in the tub to be of any danger to the twins.

"Don't get up, I'll be right back." She pointed at them, then stood up and trotted towards the closet but when she opened it and started pulling towels out a wave of distress washed through her. She suddenly felt like she was being watched. The room was filled with peaceful sounds of water splashing and lit only by the moon, and the additional light spilling through the wide open bathroom door. For a second Orihime thought that she heard hushed voices coming from the hall outside, but she had quickly dismissed her observation taking it for a trick that her overdeveloped imagination was playing on her. She was sure that Ulquiorra was guarding this place so strictly that if she had tried to walk out of this room right now, he would be standing on the other way of the hallway glaring daggers at her.

With that thought in mind, the girl had gathered the white, cotton skirts, a pair of diapers and towels, and then skipped back to watch over the bathing toddlers. They were chatting again, and after she had placed the clothes on the nearest shelf she tried to decipher their ridiculous gibberish which sometimes contained actual words, while dipping her hand in the water to check if it haven't gotten too cold. Satisfied with the temperature, she straightened up and was about to take a comb and brush the girls' hair when the faint sound of the door to their room being slowly cracked open resonated through the air. The thought that the nagging feeling of being watched and the whispers coming from the outside of the room may not have been a product of her wild imagination entered her mind along with a wave of panic. This stronghold was full of hostile creatures and people who seemed to not be entirely sane nor friendly. Fearing a sudden attack she stalked towards the open bathroom door to take a look at what's going on. She flattened herself against the wall next to the doorframe and stuck her head out only to find herself face to face with an unknown, pigtailed Arrancar who was in the exact same position on the other side of the wall, staring right back at her with a sinister frown on her face. One of her eyes was covered by her mask whilst the other flashed with malevolent gleam.

She quickly grabbed Orihime by her throat before the girl could call for help.

"Gotcha!" The intruder yelled victoriously as if she had successfully caught her long sought prey. "I knew Lord Aizen was hiding you somewhere in here!"

Orihime gasped and grabbed the hand that was tightening its grip on her neck, in a futile attempt to get the Arrancar to let her go but this only seemed to anger the hollow. For a moment her mind almost went blank and from the corner of her eye she spotted the exact same soldier whom she had brought to life at Aizen's request, standing a few feet behind her attacker. The girl couldn't understand why did Menoly brought to her someone who wants to harm her. She saved her life! Was that considered to be an offense by inhabitants of Hueco Mundo? It wasn't even her own decision to do it!

All of sudden the sound of sobbing came from the other end of the bathroom and both intruder's gaze fell on the twins who, startled by the unforeseen act of violence, began crying. The sight of two toddlers drained all the color from their assailant's face and she threw Orihime against the wall in rage.

"Loly… are those what I think they are?" The blonde soldier pointed towards the bathtub.

Her friend who had been focusing her attention entirely on her prey until now took a step back and turned her head a few times to Orihime and then again towards the twins.

"I-It cannot be! They have offspring already… together!" Disgusted and appalled she seethed through her clenched teeth and before she could make any other moves Orihime threw her shield between the kids and the two intruders while trying to run back to them and stop them from crying. She didn't get far however because Menoly had quickly spotted her attempts to move away and brought her foot onto the girl's lower back, successfully pinning her to the floor, this time having no reservation whatsoever to come in contact with her. Orihime yelped at the sudden jolt of pain shooting through her spine as her hips were being crushed into the polished tiles underneath her. It lasted only a couple of seconds because the other Arrancar grabbed her by her hair and effortlessly lifted her body up to face her again.

"This was supposed to be mine. How dare, a filthy, human whore like you lay her hands on someone like Lord Aizen!." She growled with a voice full of hardly contained fury.

"I d-don't-" Orihime tried to explain the apparent misunderstanding but she didn't manage to finish her sentence because Loly kneed her in the abdomen. The force of that blow made her head spin and as if this wasn't enough the angry hollow punched her in the face.

Amidst the children's terrified cries and the sound of blood buzzing in her ears she could hear the soldier whom she had saved before, try to persuade her attacker into lessening the strength of her hits, apparently concerned that they might turn out fatal but the other one was far too gone into her hysteria to take her friend's words into account.

"Shut up and guard the door! I'm going to kill her, I don't care what happens next." Loly raved with her eye fixated on Orihime who was now laying on the floor between the bathtub and the two intruders. "Then I'm going to silence these brats! I can't stand them!"

Mention of bringing harm to the twins fueled Orihime's fierce need to protect them and with her shaking arms she tried to lift herself up, but her attempt at fighting back had enraged the Arrancar even more. Without a warning she had been kicked in the chest and could feel her ribs cracking; within seconds blood was flowing up to her mouth and nose. That wasn't enough for Loly however, who kicked her again but this time she aimed at her victim's groin making Orihime cry out in pain and spit out more blood. The shield that was protecting the children up until now had flickered and went out, and the faerie involuntary retreated back to their respective places in the hairpins.

Menoly was about to say something again to stop her friend from making any other harsh decisions but a voice from behind her had interrupted her.

"I knew you two bitches were up to something but not in my wildest dreams I would have guessed it was going to be this fucked up." Grimmjow stood behind the blonde with a sneer on his face, slowly eyeing their victim. "No, scratch that, this is exactly something the likes of you are capable of- holy shit! Shut up!" He yelled at the crying toddlers in irritation.

"G-Grimmjow… what do you want?" Menoly stuttered while taking a step back when the sudden sense of panic overcame her.

He didn't reply, instead of answering her question the Espada had grabbed the woman by her neck and lifted her up.

"To think Aizen actually bothered with putting back together a piece of shit like you after I blasted your head off." He growled and threw her out of the bathroom with such force, that her body ended up shattering the wardrobe.

"Don't tell me you are protecting this human wench, Grimmjow!" Loly shouted in outrage and inched closer towards the kids, toppling backwards over Orihime.

"Since when am I answerable to nasty bitches like you?" With his eyes set intensely on her, the angry Sexta was preparing himself to attack.

"Don't come any closer! Or I'll-" She stopped mid-sentence, looking behind Grimmjow with fear and disbelief which made the Espada halt and turn his gaze around.

There, in the doorframe stood Aizen. He was looming behind Grimmjow's back and staring down at Orihime's bloodied body, a few steps behind him, in the shadows of dimly lit room Tosen, his blind commander and closest advisor was loosely holding his zanpakuto's handle.

"Or you'll what?" The Lord of Las Noches asked with a clear, even tone and looked up at his subordinate. "Answer me. I want to know." The command resonated through the air and everyone fell silent except the kids, who went ecstatic at the sight of their father.

"I-I-I wanted to say, that… that I'll kill him!" Loly stammered out when she finally overcame the shock of being caught red handed by their master. "It's his fault!" She pointed a finger at Grimmjow. "He attacked the prisoner and tried to get rid of-of these!" Shrieking, she waved her hand in front of the noisy twins.

"What!? What the fuck are you talking about, you stupid, crazed heifer!?" Grimmjow's eyes flashed with anger at Loly's attempt to frame him. "You were about to kick a hole through this bimbo's stomach!"

While the two hollows were arguing an incoherent mumbling came from the room accompanied by the sound of shuffling, and cracking wood. The blind commander, who stood silent up until that point turned his head ever so slightly in the direction of the additional noise vaguely noting that Menoly, one of the intruders, had previously lost consciousness and now began to regain it. Still without direct orders from the Lord he decided to leave her to struggle to get up on her own. His attention was brought back to the scene in front of him by his leader.

"Get out and line up under the wall." Aizen said visibly irritated and then turned to his direct subordinate. "Put the kids to sleep, Tosen."

Following the command, the two Arrancar rushed out, past both, their master and one of his trusty followers, and nervously took their places alongside each other as well as next to confused Menoly who just now started to notice that they had company.

While the intruders were busy worrying about themselves, Tosen strode into the bathroom and grabbed the towels which Orihime prepared before she was attacked; carefully avoiding her body he had placed them on the rug, next to the bathtub. He then turned to the crying toddlers who were lifting their hands, demanding to be picked up but instead of complying he bend over and wrapped his arms around both of them, whispering a spell while they were clinging to him. Within seconds the cries subsided and he pulled them out of the water, placing each of them on a separate towel. After quickly wrapping them with the dry cloth he took both of their sleeping forms into his arms again and carried them to the bed, leaving Aizen alone with Orihime.

She was struggling to breath and to keep herself conscious. The blood was dripping from her nose and mouth while the nauseating pain in her abdomen was becoming more, and more difficult to bear. She remembered being bullied in school and thought that she could handle a few hits from a jealous, low ranked Arrancar but clearly she had underestimated her opponent's strength. It was making her angry and ashamed of her own inability to face an enemy that none of her friends would have a problem defeating. If Grimmjow hadn't come she may not have come out of this situation alive and Orihime was scared to even think of what would Loly do to Nenya and Narya. What made the situation even more grievous was that now Aizen himself had somehow found out what was happening and came to examine the problem in person. There was no telling what he would do with her now, she failed to protect his kids and was so battered that she couldn't even use her powers to heal herself. She felt a warm hand shaking lightly her shoulder.

"Orihime, look at me." Aizen's voice sounded above her head. He was kneeling beside her to examine the extent of the damage that was dealt to her body, and when she tried to lift her gaze he brushed a portion of disheveled locks away from her eyes.

Hearing his soft breath and hushed tone somehow helped with getting her worries under control and she tried to grasp his outstretched arm feeling like the action would keep her from passing out.

"... sorry… " She whispered, not exactly sure what she was apologizing for.

"Where hurts the most?" He asked while running his fingers through her hair. "You have to tell me."

His calm, repetitive moves and gentle words made Orihime relax and she started slipping out of her consciousness. Perhaps her dazed state made her imagine things again but she was quite sure that his body temperature was unusually high. Definitely warmer than during the time when he supported her while they were putting one of his soldiers back together…

"Don't sleep yet. Tell me, where hurts the most." The Lord slowly repeated the question.

"Down, ribs… " Were the only things she was capable of saying but soon after she cried out in pain when he pressed his fingers softly to her hip. With the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of him shaking his head.

"Your pelvis is probably broken and judging by the blood and the way you're breathing at least one of your ribs had pierced your lung… Tosen!" He called for his commander and the man had immediately showed up at the door. "Make space on the bed for her."

"I have already done this. Shall I call the nurses?" Tosen asked, ready to flash step into infirmary.

"No. I will take care of her." Aizen replied and pushed his hands under Orhime's chest and knees. "It will hurt, brace yourself." He whispered directly into her ear but no amount of bracing would prepare her for the wave of pain that went through her entire body when he had lifted her up.

With just a few strides he was at the side of the bed, lowering Orihime down and laying her on her back while she was shaking and struggling to catch her breath. When he was done putting her on the sheets he turned around and walked towards the Arrancar who were still lined up by the wall. One by one, he looked them in the eyes.

"Which one of you had done this?" His expression was unreadable and when Menoly had started to grit her teeth.

"Isn't it obvious? These two were came here to play cat and mouse with your honey to teach her a lesson." Grimmjow growled with a frown.

"It's not true!" Loly squeaked in panic. "W-We would do no such thing! Why would we even bother with a lowly human like her!? I am loyal to you, Lord Aizen and- and I only protect what's yours!"

"Yes!" Menoly picked up her comrade's idea. "We were here to stop him!" She pointed at the Espada next to her. "He wanted to kidnap the kids and make you kneel!"

"I'm going to fucking obliterate you, filthy sluts!" Grimmjow leapt at the lying Arrancars but Tosen's sword had crossed his way.

"Make me kneel… ?" Aizen repeated with an amused smile.

"Yes! That's what he said! I heard it and I wanted to stop him! I had to! I would do anything for you!" The pig tailed hollow declared with a glimmer of hope in her eye.

"Oh really!? Haven't you jackasses forgotten that your prey is still alive!? How about we ask her!?" The sixth general of Lash Noches retorted and nodded his head at the bed.

Both girls went pale and looked at their victim with sudden realization that she could testify against them at any moment. Aizen had turned around to take a look at her as well and the sight had evidently displeased him even further than before when he caught a glimpse of fresh blood soaking the fabric under her bottom.

"First you attack her and now you want to interrogate her? Don't you know when to stop?" Menoly scowled at him, trying to change the subject.

"Better stop pissing me off you sick fuck. It didn't end well for you the last time we've met." Sexta snarled and his eyes shone with an unnaturally vibrant, blue light.

"That's enough." The Lord faced them once again and started to take his coat off, revealing a sleeveless tunic. He approached Loly while handling the cloth to Tosen and regarded her with a genuine smile on his lips. "I believe you."

These words made the two soldiers straighten their back and grin at the thought of victory which made the angry Espada raise his eyebrows in disbelief. He opened his mouth, ready to protest but before he managed to say anything Aizen's hand was inside Menoly's chest. She gasped and looked down in horror.

"L-Lord A-Aizen?" She stammered out, unable to move.

The man himself had not even spared her a glance, instead he was staring at Loly while he proceeded to rip the blonde's heart out. "You said that you would do anything for me, and I believe you." He stared intensely into his petrified subordinate's eye. With his left hand painted crimson and dripping fresh blood he brought the twitching heart to her parted lips. "Eat it."

Loly looked at her comrade's shaking body, sprawled under the wall in a growing pool of red but her attention snapped back to her master as he started to push the organ against her face.

"Why aren't you doing what I said? Were you lying to me?" He asked impatiently.

Grimmjow on the other hand, was watching the whole scene with not only a dash of satisfaction, but also a great amount of amusement. It was extremely rare to see such a collected person as Aizen get his own hands dirty. Not to mention he was unexpectedly brutal. It was known far and wide in Hueco Mundo that the Lord of Las Noches had no equal when it came to wits and power but it was the first time the Espada had seem him handle someone in such savage manner.

The sound of panicked whimpers filled the room while Aizen pushed the heart harder into Loly's mouth. Her head was pressed against the wall and she tried to chew the dripping piece of flesh. Tears were streaming down her face and she tried to catch her shaky breath. It didn't take long for her to finish consuming the still warm muscle because her master kept forcefully shoving it down her throat with his fingers while tilting his head left, right and sometimes a little to the back. He seemed to be quite engrossed with the task and made sure to stuff her face with her dead friend's meat.

"Seems like you were right. You are indeed very deeply devoted to me." He noted after the Arrancar gulped the last bits of Menoly's heart. "It would be a shame to get rid of someone as loyal as you therefore I will pardon you for what you had done. Take whatever is left of your comrade and leave this room. In fact, all of you get out. You too Tosen, make sure nobody interrupts me and have someone bring a pot of tea if you will, a few rags to take care of this mess would be nice as well. You'll be in charge during my absence."

"As you wish, my Lord." Tosen bowed and led the hollows out of the room while carrying his leader's coat with him.

After a few moments of staring at the door after them, Aizen turned to Orihime and walked towards the bed. With his chin held high he looked down on her, as if contemplating what to do next. Her breaths were shallow and by the way the sheets and clothes around her pelvis were slowly turning red he guessed that one of Loly's blows had caused an internal bleeding somewhere within the abdomen.

"I'm assuming you can't fix this in your current condition?" It was a rhetorical question, of course. Without waiting for any confirmation he walked away again after suddenly remembering that his hand was still covered up to his elbow in Arrancar blood. He stepped into the bathroom, quickly taking in all the little bloodstains that were scattered on the tiles and then thoroughly washed his hands in the tub. It didn't take long and in a span of few minutes, after turning the lights off he was back at the bedside, taking a brief glance at his two daughters who were still sleeping soundly thanks to Tosen's kido spell. Aizen outstretched his hand and placed it on Orihime's lower abdomen.

She drew in her breath at the feeling of his fingers pressing slightly her bruised body. When he was satisfied with his examination, she heard him mutter something under his breath. The language he was chanting in seemed to differ from the one people in Soul Society were using on daily basis. His words were incomprehensible however, because of the low tone of his voice and the speed he was reciting them with, or maybe it was the fault of her cloudy mind that could barely comprehend the events that were taking place around her since she was attacked. Now, when Orihime was thinking about it, this was the second time she faced her kidnapper while her body was in questionable condition. Receiving any kind of support from a person like him was starting to feel a little confusing and awkward. She lifted her gaze to take a look at his face, illuminated by the soft light of the moon that was pooling in through the window above the bed. It was different from the last time though, instead of thrilled gleam in his brown eyes like when they were bringing Menoly back to life his expression was somber and weary. Maybe he didn't sleep well lately? She thought without noticing that the pain in her abdomen had decreased.

It was a little disturbing how accustomed she was getting to his presence despite spending so little time with him, she didn't want to develop feelings for someone like Aizen. Especially after he did just now. She couldn't tell if she was feeling this sick because of her injuries or because of an execution that just took place almost in front of her. If only this man was uglier hating him would be way easier. The fact that he was very polite and supportive towards her whenever they met did not help either. There was also another feeling that he awoke in her. The kind of thing someone feels when they're getting attention from a person who is somewhat special and respected by everyone. A sense of pride perhaps? She didn't know how to name it, but having the Lord of Las Noches, Seireitei's bane, who was feared by the strongest people she had ever known, come to her just to stroke her hair and heal her wounds was filling her with something she hadn't had much of an opportunity to experience yet. It was not like her friend didn't pay attention to her. Tatsuki always hugged her a lot and spent a significant amount of time with her, Sado and Ishida used to walk with her to school sometimes and whenever there was something dangerous going on they always made sure she's fine, Kurosaki too seemed to finally acknowledge her as one of his close friends, and yet it did not feel as good as being taken care of by Sosuke Aizen. The realization made her feel ashamed for not valuing her friends more than their enemy and a blush had spread across her cheeks. She looked away from him not wanting to fall any deeper into his charms.

"What is it?" He asked, apparently noticing the change in her mood. "You have turned away from me as if I have stricken you."

Hearing him say it send a shiver down her spine. The last thing she wanted to do was offending him.

"It's nothing… my neck just got stiff." She huffed out, still having problems with breathing due to her damaged lung, but he saw right through her lie.

"What are you afraid of?" He whispered while staring at her with a spark of interest.

"I'm not… afraid… " Panic made her struggle for breath even more and she started coughing while sharp jolts of pain coming from her chest made her dizzy again.

Aizen sat down next to her with his hand still placed on her lower abdomen, unmoved by her sudden coughing fit.

"Oh my, you shouldn't get so worked up about such little things." He said. "Perhaps if you tell me, I will be able to do something about it."

She couldn't tell if he was serious about what he had just said or if he only wanted to mock her, Orihime was pretty sure that he had already guessed what was on her mind but the tone of his voice did not give out his intentions. Not knowing how to respond, she decided to change the topic.

"Why are there… no stars… on Hueco Mundo's sky?" She whispered with difficulty.

The question had genuinely surprised him but it also seemed to bring down his mood again because his lips twisted into a slight frown.

"The stars had fallen."

His short reply made her look back at him again. "Fallen?"

"That's what the Hollows say."

Silence hung between them for a few minutes and she kept looking him in the eyes, searching for some kind of a hint but he just kept looking back at her without elaborating any further and just when she thought that he's not going to say anything more on the topic Aizen had leaned forward, bringing his face closer to hers.

"Now they are walking amongst us. The stars." He smiled when her eyes widened, and continued his tale. "The Sun had shone above these lands once, and a starry nights were taking over skies when it was time for it to rest. Just like in the World of the Living. But then someone came and shook the heavens with such force that all the stars, including the Sun went crashing down onto the grounds. No day had even come since that time and no star gleamed on this dark sky. Only the moon had been allowed to stay for it has no power on it's own and cannot bring Hueco Mundo back to it's former glory without aid of the Sun."

With each word he seemed to be slowly closing the distance between them and pushing his hand higher up to her chest. It has come to the point where the tips of their noses were nearly touching and Orihime was so engrossed with both, the story and the light that it brought into his eyes that she couldn't look away. Just when she thought that Aizen has no intention of stopping a knock came from the door and he had pulled away, breaking the eye contact with her and ordering the visitor to enter the room.

It was one of his many servants, pushing forward the tray with a pot of hot tea and two cups on it. She bowed deeply and greeted them with words "Hail Lord Aizen, master of all hollows!" which made Orihime feel a little awkward. Thankfully, the Arrancar did not mention their human captive and stood with her back straight and stiff, waiting for orders.

"Be quiet and clean up all this mess. I'll help myself with the tea." Aizen said and the servant only bowed before immediately settling to work. "Is your hip still hurting?" He asked after turning his attention back to the task at hand.

She could tell that the bleeding from her lower parts had stopped and the only feeling that remained was a dull ache coming from her left hip. It was obvious that he did not heal her injury entirely and she didn't know if she should tell him about that or if it will be safer to just nod and let him do whatever he plans to do. Without a word he stood up and walked to the tray, pouring himself a cup of tea while his servant was scrubbing the floor with a wet cloth that she brought along. The withdrawal of his hand resulted in a wave of cold spreading through Orihime's body and she found herself missing his gentle touch, but only until she remembered where that hand was just a half an hour ago, then her body went stiff. For a moment she had forgotten about the gruesome scene she'd witnessed while he was interrogating his soldiers. The pain and nausea were not enough to make her oblivious to the brutal set of actions that Aizen had performed without even a hint of second thought.

When he took his place beside her again and laid his hand on her fractured ribs while taking a sip of tea she grabbed his wrist and pushed it away.

"Thank you… but… " She took a shallow breath. "I can finish healing myself… you don't need to strain yourself."

"Strain?" He looked down at her hand that was still wrapped around his wrist. "Very well, if you feel strong enough to do it, I won't stop you." With that, he pulled his hand away and rested it on his lap but made no move to leave. Instead of going back to the main dome he kept watching her and drinking his tea while she was struggling to cast Soten Kisshun on herself. It took some time for it to start working and she almost gave up on trying to call Ayame and Shun'o out of her hairpins but eventually she managed to succeed.

Aizen was glancing at her through the entire time she was struggling to heal herself but did not comment on her attempts. She wondered if he was contemplating interrupting her and taking the matter into his own hands again, but his expression did not betray any of his thoughts. Soon she had found it easier to breathe and the ache in her lower abdomen was gone. Her face started slowly regaining its color and she felt like her strength was coming back to her body.

The gentle sounds of light steps and sweeping died out and the servant emerged from the bathroom to announce that she had finished cleaning up after the disaster that had taken place in kids' living area. Without even looking at her Aizen had bidden her to leave.

Silence filled the room again while Orihime worked to fix her injuries. It was heavy and made her feel a little awkward. She turned to look at the twins who kept sleeping beside her. They were tucked under the white covers and just now she had taken notice of how messy their hair were. She didn't have the chance to brush them before Loly and Menoly showed up.

"Narya and Nenya… " She said and Aizen looked down at her, waiting for her to finish even though he had already guessed how this sentence is going to end. "... where's Vilya?"

"Dead. That's what she got for hiding her pregnancy from me." He informed but decided to elaborate more about the condition of his children's mother demise when Orihime gasped and turned her head back to him. "I did not kill her, if that's what you're thinking."

"She got sick?" The girl asked, not sure if she could trust his words and before she received a reply, his hand was touching her healing shield. It seemed to her that he was very physical in nature and whenever he was interacting with someone, he also felt the need to do something with his hands, so, naturally the current person of interest tended to become a primary target.

"Something like that." He tapped his fingers against the glowing layer of reiatsu and she lifted her hand up and pressed it against the imprint of his own palm, they stared at their hands for some time and then he moved his to the other side of the shield. Orihime did the same, trying to keep their hands aligned but when she did that, he moved his hand again, but this time faster, watching as she's trying to follow his movements. They played like that for a couple of minutes until he began sweeping his hand across the shield too fast for her to catch up.

"So, what happened?" Orihime continued pressing her captor for an answer. She wanted to know everything he was willing to tell her.

"Excessive blood loss. She was nearly dead when I've found her." Aizen said without much emotion in his voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"There is no need to be sorry, she got what she deserved in the first place. If she had gotten rid of them as any sensible person would before her condition became to grievous, things would be looking differently for her. Instead she choose to die because of her sentiments."

"You really think it would have been better if your kids were never born?" There was a great amount of sadness and disappointment filling her heart after hearing him say something like this. She already knew that he wasn't the most loving father in the world but she still held some hope that he would care about the twins at least to some extent.

"Yes. I do." He stood up and after taking a one final look at her walked to the tray and set his cup down on it while a heavy sigh escaped his lips. "I believe you are well enough to finish fixing yourself on your own."

Orihime only stared at his back while he was walking out of the room. The door clicked softly behind him and she had taken a deep breath to calm herself. This meeting was an even bigger emotional rollercoaster for her than the previous one but at least she managed to not get on his nerves, or so she hoped. Perhaps she'll be able to learn something more from him later.


	5. Red Is a Nice Color

less time, more stress hence short chapter full of Aizen

he does seem like a calm and collected person but he's not always like that _

(unbeta'd)

* * *

Aizen was sitting by the desk in the study, staring at the blank pages of his notebook. The hour was late and his tea had already gotten cold. Yesterday's events had angered him way too much and he still could feel the aftereffects of having his reiatsu almost boil over him. Keeping it under strict control for such a long time made it prone to exploding whenever he lost his composure and if something like this had happened the entire Las Noches would have become a mass tomb for all who dwelt in it. This was a very disturbing thought, indeed, especially because he needed these hollows to win him a war.

He tapped the tip of his pen against the empty sheet of paper. What was that he decided to write down again? Ah, yes… Orihime and her abilities.

 _Yesterday Inoue Orihime had been attacked by two members of the guard. I have decided to personally intervene in the assault. Her injuries were severe enough to put her life in danger. It is worth noting that in such state she was unable to use her power of rejection._

The memory of her battered body lying on the bathroom floor flashed through his mind and he had found himself unable to make it go away. He should have gutted the other guard too for daring to damage that girl without being given any specific orders to do so. She was vital to the last steps of his plan, besides, he actually had grown quite fond of her. It was a shame that she's so young, but humans do age rather quickly and it wouldn't take much time for her to reach an acceptable age. A curious, little soul she was and he had a certain liking for people like that and yet, the one whom she had saved had treated her in such a savage manner. Truly, an animal would know better.

Of course he was aware that these two Arrancars were overly attached to him and would try to scare their guest (to his amusement) but he had vastly overestimated the amount of malice they were capable of. Hopefully the rumor of their punishment already spread across the stronghold and no one will get any equally stupid ideas as they did. Such disobedience… death was a merciful solution in this case… he should have sent them both to get disciplined by Szayel's hand. A thousand years in his laboratory would teach them what does it mean to attack the hand that returned one of them to existence… he still could do it… there was still one left… .

He had been shaken out of his angry pondering by the sound of his pencil being snapped in half.

"No. I think not." Aizen said to himself and looked down at a broken fountain pen and a large blot of ink that was quickly spreading over the sheet of paper, and his hand which also got drenched in the red liquid.

Yes. He did use red ink. Red was the color of blood, fire and life. The color of love too. It was weird how it was often associated with evil these days. Modern people used to paint the devils in this color, and drape the villains in media with it, and and the eyes were shown to be flashing red when a character was supposed to have evil intentions. He found these interpretations unpleasant and had no wish to adapt this way of reading the message that this pigment seemed to be sending across.

Red is such a nice color.

The memory of little blood stains being scattered across the bathroom in the quarters that belonged to his kids came to his mind. What an obtrusive recollection. These images were haunting him since yesterday and they kept rising up his spiritual pressure.

Frustrated, he let go of the broken pen and dipped his finger in the jar of ink. After giving it a good swirl he brushed off the excess against the jar's rim and started swiping it across the page, making a sloppy doodle of the sun. This was so therapeutic. He should be doing it more often. Encouraged by the relaxing effects of his artistic adventure the Lord of Las Noches continued putting his finger into the ink and making messy, little pictures. There was a tower, a sea, the mountains and some trees, and then… nothing.

Nothing is pretty important too. It sometimes makes people want to put something in it's place, which is one of the key factors of being creative. But sometimes nothing is also needed to help a tired mind rest and declutter from dealing with all the things it created.

The thought of void brought another set of unpleasant memories. He arose from his chair and walked towards the window. Outside the wind was picking up speed which gave a foreshadowing of an upcoming sandstorm. The way the walls of white towers which were surrounding the main dome reflected the moonlight made the entire stronghold look ethereal and it made him proud for building and ruling this place. None could enter it without his knowledge and none could leave.

He looked down at his hand stained with red ink, and brought it up to his lips. Slowly, he pushed the red fingers into his mouth and sucked. The ink had a slight metallic taste to it but not the kind that blood would have. Aizen kept looking outside the window while trying to lick the ink off of the back of his hand. He attempted to calm his fluctuating reiatsu that began rising again and the thought of Orihime's own spiritual pressure came to his mind. It seemed to have healing properties on itself, no matter if it was being directed at the object that needed fixing or not. It had a very pleasant feeling to it and this was the reason why he managed to control his previous outburst so well.

Her presence lightened his mood and he could not stop himself from initiating some form of a physical contact. Perhaps it helped him with nullifying some of the tension that kept arising within him. Bringing her here was indeed a good decision. Surprisingly, despite their differences in status and strength she still wasn't afraid to ask him questions which others would not dare to bring up. Of course it was obvious to him that she was very aware of how great his advantage is over her but it didn't stop her from trying to somehow familiarize with him. He had found such behaviour quite entertaining which was the kind of quality he would look for in someone with whom he planned to work closely in the future.

While looking at the white dunes in the distance he imagined a field of grass instead. It was split by the river that would flow through these lands and hydrate the soil. The sun would shine high in the blue sky and the sounds of birdsong would fill the area.

It was such a nice, simple image and yet it made him clench his fist. A huge expanse like this, wasted. It shouldn't look how it does now, but these cowards will do nothing about it.

He took a deep breath and looked away from the window. Too many things were getting on his nerves lately and Aizen decided that the best way of getting rid of (or at least lessening) that unyielding grip of irritation was simply pushing away his consciousness for a time being. To put it simply, he just wanted to go to sleep which he did not do very often.

Kyoka Suigetsu seemed to agree with him because he could feel the blade getting heavier at his side and pulling the red sash that he was wearing around his waist, down to the ground. Encouraged by his guardian spirits Aizen turned around and slowly walked out of the study with his back straight and chin held high in a noble manner. The door to his alcove weren't far away and on his way he had crossed paths with Tosen who immediately stepped aside to let him pass.

The Lord stopped in his track and looked at his commander with half lidded eyes. He immediately guessed where the man was coming back from.

"How is she?"

Tosen sighed and nodded slightly in approval of what he was about to say.

"Physically everything seems to be fine but yesterday's incident had drained her emotionally. I don't think it will affect her performance however. The presence of the kids is keeping her mind away from dark thoughts and she's curious about her surroundings. Ulquiorra says she's been asking him about some insignificant matters. She had also been asking about you."

"Asking about me, you say?" Amused by the report Aizen questioned his subordinate with a little smile adorning his face. So she was thinking about him too… of course it was quite predictable given how much care he has been treating her with.

Good. He needs her to feel sympathy towards him. The more she'll be willing to comply the better. There is a huge task ahead of her. "Thank you Tosen, by the way, take command over Las Noches. I'm going to keep out of sight for a while."

The commander did not reply but bowed low in acknowledgement. The gesture was enough for the Lord to part ways with him. Without hesitation he straightened his back and walked away to fulfill his new task.

The man knows as Sosuke Aizen, on the other hand, had just entered a dark, windowless room with black walls made of marble. It was not excessively spacious but it also wasn't overly small. A dark, wooden bed stood in the right corner and a black wardrobe was placed in the left one, while a door to the bathroom were placed next to it.

He closed the door behind him and with a few words put a seal on them. The darkness did not bother him and without switching any lights on he strode towards the wardrobe while sliding the long, white coat off of his shoulders. There weren't many clothes in there: two pairs of spare pants, tunics and coats just like this one, also, shoes. Everything was boring and the same looking but he didn't feel the need to change anything. This was all temporary after all. Soon it will be gone.

Before taking the rest of his clothes off, Sosuke unclasped his sword from its place at his side and slid it out of it's sheath. He discarded the sheath and kept staring at the blade and turning it around as if he was seeing it for the first time in his life.

"How long will you keep refusing to look at me?" He asked with a frown but no answer came, the blade in his hand became flaccid instead and dangled above the ground like a piece of rope. "So this is how you're going to behave now. Very mature." The comment was rewarded by the weapon twisting itself into a spiral. "Maybe I should really seal you inside and Asauchi, we'll see how whimsy you will be then." The threat seemed to not bring any desired effects because the thing in his hand started vibrating. His words had humored it instead of getting it to obey his will.

Irritated, he walked to the centre of the bedroom and dropped his blade, but rather than hitting the floor, it levitated above it.

"I will take a shower and go to sleep. In the meantime, you'll keep watch on me." He commanded and the sword untwisted itself. It wasn't very compliant lately. Apparently it took a liking to their prisoner and wanted to stay within close proximity to her. It seemed to him that Orihime's reiatsu was having effect even on his guardian spirit. Shinigami are calling them zanpakuto spirits… _shinigami…_ a bunch of fools. They don't even know why they call _themselves_ like that.

He shook his head and went back to taking off the rest of his clothes but before he managed to take the all off a loud "thud" came from the sword's direction. A whisper resounded through the room and he slowly turned his head back to Kyoka Suigetsu. It didn't like this name, thinking that it sounded too pretentious. It wasn't his fault that non-japanese sounding names were suspicious to _shinigami_ for most of the time.

Upon further investigation he noticed that the blade had thrown off it's handle and started vibrating again. He stood in place, unmoving, as if he feared that any unexpected actions would startle it.

"What are you doing?" He whispered while staring at it. The fabric of his half folded tunic started to wrinkle under the pressure of his tightening grip.

It began to sing.

Immediately the air left his lungs, his hands fell to is sides and his lips twisted into a frown. This time the spirit decided to sound like a 10 years old child and Aizen was grateful to his past self for putting that seal on the entrance to this place. He didn't say anything and returned to his previous task. Arguing with it after having it quiet and unmoving for several hours would be futile.

Uncontained spirits were illegal in Soul Society. It was a secret rule that aside from governing body, only the members of Omnitsukido were aware of. Those who possess enough power for their spirits to materialize are either recruited to serve in the Gotei under false premises of receiving training, and taking a position as a member of one of the thirteen squads in order to become a part of a greater good. In reality Seireitei does this to control those who could obtain the power to overthrow those who sit at the top, and limits the growth of the spirit by sealing it inside an Asauchi. And if someone refuses the call they are immediately locked in the lower levels of the Maggot's Nest or killed.

Thankfully, he was very skilled at hiding his true power and intentions. Had he not found out about this rule very early in his life, he would probably be dead for a long time already…

After all his clothes were folded and put on their places in the wardrobe he went straight under the shower while his blade continued to sing. It was singing something weird and he didn't listen but if it continued with the song after he came out of the bathroom he would have to make an attempt to silence it.

With this kind of beast at his side it was a wonder how Gin had not yet noticed that he's not dealing with a zanpakuto. He briefly speculated about what would happen if he put Ichimaru alone with Kyoka Suigetsu in one room and then left.

He stood under the running water for a while, pondering on the possibilities of such encounter and at last he made a decision. When his "lieutenant" would finally admit his treason, this shall be the most entertaining way to get rid of him. Of course it all would also depend on the situation they'll find themselves in. But planning ahead is something Aizen likes to do, and he does it does quite well.

From his bedroom he recognised the name that the spirit started to sing "Orihime, Orihime, Orihime, hmmm" and some other pretty words to describe it. It sure had liked her alot, but on the other hand, it was very protective of his kids too. Perhaps it started to perceive her as a part of the family? Surely, that must have been the case. Maybe it was for the better, because he will have to disclose a certain secret to her soon and it is not the kind of information that should be handled lightly.

He turned off the water and in the same moment the singing had stopped. Satisfied with the silence that fell around the place, Aizen took a big, white towel and dried himself thoroughly. His thick hair were the only part of him that remained somewhat wet after he was done rubbing the cloth against every part of his body.

He put on a pair of sweatpants and a long tunic that he prepared before stepping into the shower. Now, when he was clean and quite drowsy he walked out of the bathroom only to see the center of the room empty. Within seconds he was wide awake and scanning the area in order to find the spirit. It didn't take him long because as soon as he looked up he had found the missing creature. The blade was right under the ceiling, parallel to the spot he left it in.

"Keep watch." The ordered and pointed his finger at the sword. "I really need to have some rest." He said while climbing up the bed. He has so many people to get rid of. So many shadows to avoid.

They don't know what's in the shadows…

Nobody knows but him.

In the end there will only be him versus them.

No one else.


	6. The Eye (Part 1)

Well, it took me some time to write, because of reasons, but here it is if anyone's interested.

* * *

"My Lord Aizen…" Orihime moaned while the man in question slowly moved his hand up from her hip, brushing through her breast he brought it up to her neck and then stroked her jaw while looking down at her lips.

He took one step forward, closing the gap between their bodies and without saying anything he slowly brushed his lips across her own. The gesture made her shiver; she pushed herself up to stand on her tiptoes in an attempt to reach his lips and take the kiss he's been denying her.

The feelings of peace and safety seemed to take over her mind and she couldn't care less if he only made her feel that way because it rendered her way easier for him to manipulate. This sense of security and belonging Orihime yearned for ever since she had lost her brother. She would never dare to think that she would find it in arms of the enemy, but here she was, devoting herself to him without even a shadow of shame.

He was about to finally kiss her when Orihime felt a sudden jolt of pain shot up her abdomen. With a grunt she opened her eyes to see Nenya's leg buried in her belly; it's owner sleeping soundly with her head buried in the mattress and clutching a fistful of sheets in her hand. It was a dream. Obviously. Definitely. Aizen would never do something like that. It was too… un-aizen-y of him. The room was dark as always and a little stream of silver moonlight was falling on the other end of their bed. She pushed the child's foot off of herself and turned Nenya around to avoid being kicked again.

After putting her head down on a pillow once more she found it difficult to fall asleep asleep. The thought of dreaming about the Lord of Las Noches holding her way too close caused her face to turn red and brought up her hands to hide her embarrassment even though nobody was here to see it. Such a needles dream. Inappropriate. What would her friends think of her is they saw what she was dreaming about? It's such a relief to know that at least her thoughts and dreams can't be heard and seen by Ulquiorra. He does have this nasty ability to see through people somehow but she was fairly sure that he couldn't literally see what is happening inside their heads.

She sat up and stretched her arms above her head, trying to catch any noises that could potentially suggest the hour of the ever present night. Sometimes she could hear the clamoring of the washing machines and footsteps of working Arrancars echoing through the corridors, but at this moment everything seemed to be perfectly still and quiet. Orihime half hoped to hear a voice singing somewhere from within the main dome.

Without a doubt, two days ago someone was chanting her name almost obsessively and at first she thought that she might be getting mad from all the stress she's been subjected to lately, however, when Ulqiorra showed up to deliver them their rations she had asked him about it. With no hesitation in his voice the Espada had admitted to hearing it too, but he did not stay to dwell on the topic as he seemed to consider as irrelevant. "If the Lord had not informed me about anything regarding the owner of that voice, then it is not my business. Take it as an advice." He said and left her and the twins alone with their dinner.

Since that time Orihime had been straining her ears in hopes of hearing it again. Surely, Aizen wouldn't be hiding another child of his somewhere in the stronghold? Besides, aside from having a childish note to it, there was also a sharp, metallic undertone surrounding it which made it sound somewhat artificial. Perhaps she would have found it creepy, had she not been surrounded by creatures who wore parts of animal skulls permanently adhered to their heads and were probably waiting for an order to kill her a any moment.

Puzzling over the the strange voice chanting her name and the dark and quiet atmosphere of the room had drained her enough to put her into a state of light drowsiness. With a sigh she set to lay down again when she heard footsteps echoing faintly in the corridor behind the closed door. They seemed to be slowly inching closer, aiming straight towards her and the twin's place.

After a few minutes the doors cracked open and Ulquiorra walked quietly inside accompanied by another (very round) Arrancar. He did not look surprised to see Orihime awake and she looked up at him questioningly.

"Lord Aizen wishes to see you." He said with a flat voice and turned around, obviously expecting her to jump out of the bed and follow him back to the main dome.

"What about-"

"Rollo will look after the kids." The Espada had cut in, not wanting to wait for her to finish asking the question.

She left the bed and glanced at the new Arrancar while she walked towards the door. He seemed to be eyeing her tentatively, not daring to move nor say anything. It looked like he was trying to not attract her attention to himself. The room was still dark because Ulquiorra had not bothered with turning the lights on, probably not wanting to wake the girls, but she could make out Rollo's expression. He seemed worried and she saw that he was anxiously clenching his jaw while his eyes were unfocused as he kept staring at the opposite wall.

He was behaving very oddly and Orihime wasn't sure if she should let him stay with the two sleeping toddlers, however she did not have much time to think about it because her warden steps seemed to slowly fade in the distance and it was quite clear that he had not intended to stop and wait for her to catch up with him. The stronghold was far too big and complicated for her to remember the way to the main dome and even if she did manage to get there on her own, she probably would not be able to guess in which room Aizen was waiting for her. There were also other Arrancars stalking down the corridors and the last encounter taught her that it will be better if she'll avoid any confrontation.

She ran after the Espada and soon was walking shoulder to shoulder with him.

"What could he possibly want from me at this hour?" Orihime allowed herself to think out loud.

"You will learn when we'll get there, besides, you don't even know the time." He said, sounding as bored as ever when they were talking.

"I know it's late! I've noticed the washtower works at intervals."

"It does not matter. When the Lord orders you to wake, then you will obey." Ulquiorra stated firmly without even looking at her.

Ulquoirra's stiffness only made her roll her eyes; she got used to his relentless need to turn Aizen's every word into an order. The nature of his summon, however, still bothered her. Maybe it had something to do with the beating she received from Loli? Perhaps he needed to personally assess her physical state? He did give her a hand when it came to mending her bones. She suddenly went red in the face when she remembered the dream she just had. Maybe it was some sort of a vision?! Maybe he'll ask her to show him the places on her body which sustained some damage during that incident.

The scenes from the dream flooded back into her head and she quickly brought her hands to cover her face like she had done back in the bed. Thinking about the way he held her and how close they were had pushed her into a fit of embarrassment and made her rub her red face, and pant as of she just ran a marathon.

"Disgusting." She heard Ulquoirra's comment right beside her and was about to reply when a wave of cold washed through her. All of sudden Orihime felt like they were being watched and her hand had latched on the hem of Ulquoirra's sleeve.

"Do not pay attention to that." He said without even a hint of worry in his voice, quite the contrary, he seemed to be rather amused by something and appeared not to care about Orihime's hand that was still attached to his sleeve.

They had soon turned a corner and entered a short corridor leading towards tall wooden door which seemed to stand out oddly against the pristine white wall in which they were lodged. The corridor was lit with moonlight that was pooling inside through several arches propelled on ornate columns. The archways seemed to lead to a long, open balcony in front of which a vast desert was spreading far and wide without end. The balcony was hanging very high above the ground and she could barely see the leafless trees scattered randomly across the sand below while they walked towards the door.

With each step Orihime grew more anxious, the dream and the memory of her last meeting with the Lord of Las Noches had pushed themselves back into the surface of her mind. She slowed her pace and stood behind Ulquiorra's back when he finally came to halt. He announced their arrival and they both waited for the door to open. For a few minutes there was no response whatsoever and Orihime silently hoped that Aizen had cancelled their meeting, but as she was about to ask her warden if they should come back the right wing of the massive, wooden door swung open.

"Please, come in." Called a deep, masculine voice from the inside, yet Ulquoirra remained motionless. She stepped closer to the Arrancar and gave him a questioning look but he only motioned with his hand towards the open entrance, signaling her to go inside by herself. Such an odd behaviour on his part distressed her even more. Why would he not come in there with her? The last time he seemed to have no problem with walking her right into Aizen's study.

Reluctantly, she took a few steps towards the door and peered inside. The room on the other side was spacious and completely different from any other place she had seen so far inside the stronghold. There were dark, wooden panels adorning the lower part of the walls and a big, fancy rug covered the black, polished tiles in the center of the floor. At the opposite wall two arches were leading to yet another, smaller balcony and a pair of thin, silky curtains which kept disturbing the moonlight fluttered with the breeze. Some old, wooden cabinets were standing under the walls, and a few paintings hung above them. The room was dimly lit and she could make out Aizen's silhouette sitting on the sofa that stood a little of the center. He slowly brought himself up and turned his head in her direction.

"Well?" He said without showing any desire to walk towards her like he had done when she was first brought to his study. Even though not much time had passed since she had been called there to demonstrate her abilities Orihime felt like these events had taken place ages ago. She remembered the study being a little darker than this place, probably because it lacked the moonlight which was now weakly illuminating the room.

Not wanting to annoy her host she slowly crossed the threshold and the door had closed behind her with a loud click.

"You called for me… L-Lord Aizen." She looked down at her feet, quite unable to bring her eyes towards his face.

"Yes, I did." His voice resounded through the air followed by a prominent, metallic thud and she lifted her head up slightly, trying to spot the source of the unexpected sound. "There is something I would like to show you."

Orihime saw it then. The handle of Aizen's zanpakuto was lying at his feet, but the blade was nowhere to be seen. The sight had unnerved her and she looked up to his face expecting to see him staring at it with panicked expression but to her surprise, he was acting as if half of his sword hadn't just disappeared.

The room was silent and he was still standing in the middle of it without uttering a word, but Aizen did not need words to convey a message. He just looked her in the eyes and Orihime felt as if her legs started guiding the rest of her body towards him.

"Y-your sword!" She blurted out without much thinking, feeling unable to bear the silence.

"Yes, the handle fell onto the floor." He replied, sounding quite unmoved but he gave her an amused look, as if daring her to ask about it. Orihime stopped a few steps in front of him and looked back at the handle which was still lying bladeless and motionless on the rug, next to it's owner's foot. Maybe he needed it mended? She turned her gaze back to him, her lips twisted into a confused frown and Aizen only tilted his head slightly to the side.

"There is no blade… " She murmured stupidly, clearly not expecting to see anything like this while Ulquiorra was leading her to this chamber.

"No, there is not." The man in front of her replied patiently, as if he were talking to a child.

"Do I fix… ?" He hands slowly went up as she voiced the question, ready to call out her faerie, and he clasped his own palms around them, stopping them in the middle.

"It's not broken." He said simply.

This seemed to wake Orihime from her daze. She furrowed her brows and looked at the handle and then again up at Aizen. He seemed to guess what was on her mind because he spoke before she could ask any more questions.

"I have summoned you here tonight because there is something I wish for you to witness. I presume it will make a lot of things clearer to you, and at the same time it ought to put my mind at ease. You see, I like taking precautions."

She blinked up at him, not understanding what he meant by "precautions" and "putting his mind at ease", and also quite oblivious to the fact that he was still clutching her hands in his own.

"You will see for yourself in a minute." He added. "For example, if you're wondering where the blade had gone…" Aizen slowly looked up and Orihime had followed suit. The view hit her as unexpectedly as the rest of the situation she'd found herself in. Up, under the high ceiling there was something… something hard to describe, it covered the entire surface like a great sheet of constantly breaking and mending glass. For a moment it was doing just that, swaying calmly with jagged waves but then it suddenly started spinning around, creating a slowly opening hole in the center. A blue orb had filled it, and after that a smaller, white one showed up on the top of it, then a third, smallest, black one. It hung right above them and seemed to focus on her like a great eye.

Orihime gaped up at it, feeling like her knees were bending under the weight of her upper body but when she blinked it was all gone, and she was standing as straight as before. She felt Aizen let go of her hands and when she looked down at him, he was standing quite far away from her.

"Well, that should do it." She heard him say nonchalantly. "Fear not… unless you have something to hide." He smiled at her dangerously, and from the moment a thought entered her mind she knew that something was horribly wrong.


	7. The Eye (Part 2)

Wow. Here goes an update.

* * *

The door leading to the ornate chamber cracked open slightly and a lean silhouette slid inside without a word. Gin did not announce his presence right away, as he had a habit of keeping himself hidden for as long as he saw fit or until his captain had made it known that he has eyes all around his head and nothing can get past him undetected.

Out of sheer curiosity, as Gin again tended to do, he waltzed into Aizen's private area after he had noticed Ulquoirra hurrying away from the only place where no hollow was permitted to visit without their master's strict permission. Of course Ulquiorra's presence in such a place could mean only one thing; Orihime had been summoned by the highest power of Hueco Mundo, which meant that something interesting was probably about to stir and he wanted to gain some insight.

He took a few steps closer to the place where he felt his captain's reiatsu was most dense. Orihime's signature appeared to be so close to him that it was barely recognizable. Gin had a hard time fighting an urge to open his eyes and take a peek at what could possibly be transpiring between the two but as he slowly crept forward. His foot kicked something not very large in size, yet it was not small also. Aizen seemed not to pay attention to the sound which had resonated through the chamber; surely he must have been aware that his subordinate was here. The Lord could always tell when his chambers weren't completely deserted, no matter how well his visitors managed to hide.

Ichimaru bend down and picked up the object. While he was turning it around curiously he became quite perplexed by the realisation that he was holding a handle of his master's, now bladeless, sword. It was so odd. At once his guard went up and he prepared himself to fight if there came a need for it. He took another step forward hoping to catch his captain at doing something shameful but Aizen's voice had stalled his actions.

"It is rude to walk into people's homes without knocking, Gin."

A chill ran up his spine and for a moment he found himself unable to respond which made the situation even more abnormal.

Suddenly, he wished that he hadn't decided to visit.

He was aware of Aizen's incredible power and intelligence but he had never felt any irrational fear building up in him when they were interacting in any way. It was quite the opposite, whenever they met he had felt a small surge of excitement coming over him. Standing close to such monstrosity and even conspiring against it made his life a little more interesting, now however, none of such feelings had resurfaced. There was only cold anxiety and a nagging need to flee.

"I saw Ulquiorra scurryin' off. Thought I might drop by." Gin answered truthfully. He preferred not to lie until he really had to, one wrong move would give his master an excuse to cut him down. No matter how fond Aizen seemed to be of his lieutenant, it would be foolish of him to believe that his facade held any sincerity in it.

"Perhaps you did, but I don't remember you knocking."

"You know how I am. I didn't want to disturb your fun."

"Fun… " Aizen trailed off and looked down at Orihime slumped against him. Brown eyes momentarily clouded over while a rush of thought seemed to pass through his mind. Then they snapped back to the silver haired man and seized him. Their owner obviously considering something he would not say. "Why, yes. We are having a lot of fun these days. Aren't we?" A sinister smile appeared on the former captain's lips before continuing. "Perhaps you could take a part in it. Some day?"

At these words the treacherous lieutenant scowled. A game was being orchestrated behind these words and under any other circumstances he would let himself play along for the fun of satisfying his own curiosity and a gleeful feeling of overcoming one of his masters many psychological warfare sessions which he so loved to set up between the two of them. This time however, something was off. A nagging little voice in the back of his head screeched at him continuously in warning; constantly reminding him about some form of danger that had yet not revealed itself and was lurking somewhere in the corners of his vision. Yet he was unable to discern what it was and where the blow would come, if it would at all. A thinly veiled presence of an unknown terror haunted this place.

"Ah! So generous of ya to to invite me to… " Gin waved around a hand in which he still hed the empty hilt nonchalantly. "Whatever ya doin' but… I'm afraid my schedule won't allow it at the moment."

"But I just said that we could meet ' _Some day_ ', did I not? I wasn't talking about this particular moment." Aizen leaned closer and Ichimaru's entire frame momentarily froze for his master's unrelenting gaze seemed to burn through the very flesh of his eyelids and press it's calculating weight upon his own so meticulously guarded eyes. It seared every nerve in his body and rendered it useless. In a wave of panic he tried to change the topic of their conversation and shift it towards the girl laying in his Lord's arms.

"Do excuse me captain. I had… how do ya say? A tiresome day, heh. I wouldn't want to interfere with any business of yours." The sneaky lieutenant extended his free hand slowly towards Orihime with intention of brushing his fingers through her copper hair but his attempt was interrupted by his master's swift grasp on his wrist.

"Lay your hands on any business of mine, and you will find your own in shreds. Again." Aizen said with calm but extremely sinister tone of voice and Gin had found it difficult to keep his eyes closed. The implication was very clear and he couldn't stop himself from gritting his teeth in unison.

 _He knew._

Aizen very clearly knew about Rangiku and that Gin was aware of the thievery of a fragment of her power, which he had ordered.

Cold sweat started dripping down Gin's temple but he reminded himself that he has to keep his ground. Something was askew with Aizen today, something that had never occurred before and he needed to get away from him. Gently, the lieutenant pulled his hand out of the iron grip of his Lord and took a step back. The smile on his face did not falter through the whole ordeal but he could feel his poise slipping with every heartbeat and he could not allow this unexpected turn of events to break his character and jeopardize his own agenda in wake of his captain's unpredictable mood swings.

The girl in Aizen's hold had shuddered and her expression had twisted into a pained frown. Seeing this the Lord of Las Noches slid his unoccupied arm under her knees and hoisted her up so she was now fully resting against his chest.

"This ain't the best moment to have a conversation about the past, is it? The confrontation with Gotei 13 is gettin' closer. I thought ya were preparin' somethin' special right now. " Ichimaru said in hopes of gaining a few minutes to gather his wits while the other man rambles on about the insignificance of the passage of time in the face of his grand plan which probably somehow involved Gin from the very beginning, as he tended to do. But this courtesy was not granted to him this time however, because Aizen had only turned his back to him and started walking towards the sofa which was situated near the one of his open balconies.

"I am preparing something special. You are just not involved with it." His master said simply and then sat down with Orihime, who was still unconscious, in his arms.

It threw Gin off his track and he felt his mouth suddenly getting dry. This was getting more, and more dangerous with every passing second and not in the fun way, he noted. Aizen liked to push and prod him whenever they held their conversations but his sudden shift in attitude caught his silver snake of a lieutenant completely off guard. The former captain was smiling and Gin didn't need to open his eyes to know this. He felt his own smirk falter.

"What is it Gin? Have you ran out of topics right after you walked through my doors uninvited? Don't you have any gossip for me?" Aizen's voice rang through the room bearing a note of self satisfaction.

It had dawned on Gin that he had been standing there without moving or talking with his back slightly bend and not fully facing the other party. With a pang of dread he'd noticed that he must have looked alarmed and ready to flee. Which was true but one could never cover from Aizen if they wished to survive and keep their position at his side. He wanted to straighten up and take a sit beside his leader but he had found that he'd been unable to step closer to him.

The very air around Aizen just seemed to get fouler. He could not say that the current highest Power of Hueco Mundo radiated joy and friendliness on daily basis but Aizen's presence had most definitely not been so… menacing. At least not to Gin who over time grew used to his master's casual creepiness, smug flaunting of his intellect and an inflated ego. Something had changed within that man and Ichimaru would bet that it had a lot to do with Orihime Inoue.

That's right. He's never been this weirdly possessive with anyone. Not even Hinamori. With this realization Gin seemed to relax. He still had no idea what was going on but at least he knew what was causing this anomaly and it opened up a possibility of further investigation. He seemed to be coming back to his senses thanks to a bundle of plans and schemes that was forming in his head while he tried to gather himself.

"I think… I don't feel well today." He confessed.

"So it seems." Yet another uncharacteristically simple answer came from the creature who was sitting on the sofa and eyeing him with some interest.

"But there is one rumor I'm quite curious about. Maybe ya gon' tell me how it went because no matter how many times I ask Tousen he just won't answer." Gin tried to regain his usual composure as he spoke.

"Try me." Aizen said while he relaxed against the pillows.

"People are talkin'... that ya got angry because," The lieutenant pointed his chin at Orihime. "Our… guest got attacked. Ya made one of the Arrancar girls who beat her to eat the heart of the other one."

He heard his Lord stifle a laugh and found the action was mildly concerning.

"I have done so." Aizen stated with something akin to pride. "They were ordered not to touch her and yet they had the audacity to disobeyed me."

"Dont'cha think it was a little over the top? Assignin' her as Yami's fracction would have brought more entertaining results." Now this was starting to feel normal, or at least as normal as it usually went between them.

"Oh my, you really are not feeling well today. I did say that if you touch something of mine, then I will touch something of yours?" The Lord chided which caused Gin to tense again. "Maybe you should go take a break?"

"You're right. I think I spent too much time in surveillance room. Got a little sleep deprived." He had recognized the chance that he was given and he decided to take it. It was apparent to Gin that trying to hold a normal conversation with Aizen today was pointless. The Lord seemed to somehow grow more vicious for some reason and his silver tongued lieutenant gladly accepted his offer to let him retreat for the… rest of the working hours. "Ah well, I'll take my leave then. I'll see ya around."

With that Gin gave a small bow towards his master and scurried out of the moonlit chamber while placing the empty sword hilt on the nearest dresser. He did not dare to turn around but if he had, he would see a gleaming pair of eyes with white irises encompassed entirely by blue 'whites', following him intently as he left.

"ⵜⵉⴼⵉⵖⵕⴰ ***** " Muttered the man who was currently sprawled on the sofa and who kept clutching sleeping Orihime to his chest.

* * *

* ⵜⵉⴼⵉⵖⵕⴰ (Berber - tifiɣṛa "snake")


	8. A World Beyond Your Dreams

sometimes the things i write when i'm fully conscious, are worse

* * *

"Really, I hoped you'd do better." Aizen sighed while the space around him buzzed and shifted. "Calm down. Focus on a single idea. Oh, how about me? Try focusing on me." He said with the kind of satisfied expression that even Orihime would not have imagined him capable of pulling off.

The advice turned out to be a terrible one because the first thing that came to her mind was the embarrassing dream she had before Ulquiorra arrived to drag her to his master's chambers. Within seconds they ended up pressed against each other but Aizen was quick in his resolve and he separated them just as fast.

"Or maybe not-"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She cried out before he's got to finish the sentence. "I can't stop! I just can't stop talking or imaging things! It wasn't intentional!"

For from the very first second since she had arrived in this strange, warped place Orihime couldn't stop herself from speaking all her thoughts aloud. Worse yet, every fantasy that crossed her mind was immediately played out, and it wasn't only her, the Lord of Las Noches seemed to be affected by this strange setting too. She knew that he was trying to tell her something but in her panic nothing could be registered in her bewildered mind.

She couldn't focus a feeling that her body was detaching itself from her mind as everything around her started to crack and break began to spread through her. For a moment Orihime felt like she's going to fall apart but then Aizen's angry voice bellowed through the air, momentarily causing her to focus her attention on him and halt her panic.

"FOCUS!" He shouted once again and closed the distance between them, but this time they haven't ended up touching in any awkward way. "You have such a nice eyes, I like the color- but that's not the point." He shook his head and his brown hair fell around his face. "Focus on my words and actions because if you won't, you'll die."

The threat sent a wave of cold shivers through Orihime's entire body and she kept staring at the man in front of her. He was brushing his hair off from his eyes and kept muttering something to himself before he spoke again.

"As you kind of noticed, we are connected right now." The air grew hot and the girl started stuttering.

"C-C-C-Connected!?" She shrieked with tears in her eyes and the master of Hueco Mundo felt his as entire being began to boil.

"Not like that! You're a teenager for all saints sake! Stop testing me and focus!" He lost his composure entirely and hid his face in his palms. "Listen to me. We share a mindscape right now, we cannot lie to each other and all our thoughts will be put into action. Even I am not immune to this!" He rubbed his eyes and then looked back up to her. "The more time we spend here, the better accustomed we'll become to this setting. We need to be straightforward." Without breaking eye contact he straightened and took advantage of her silence.

"There is something important I need you to see and the only place I can show you this is here, for it is a part of my own memory and no other record of it exist outside of it." While he was saying that, the white robes that he was wearing began to change. His pants hugged his legs tighter and the edges of both of his tunic and long coat became emblazoned with symmetric red patterns. The thick collar around his neck was covered entirely in them. His boots turned entirely brown.

"How did you do that, with your clothes?" Orihime asked as she shifted her attention to his altered attire.

"I remembered it. Someone I used to know wore a coat like this one." The man's response brought upon her an unexpected sense of nostalgia which then turned into grief, but he once again quickly reigned his emotions and they were soon lifted from her mind.

"Who? Someone important? Wow, I never expected to learn anything about you. I actually thought that you want to run some experiments on me and then put my head into a jar!" She let out a laugh as if she were discussing a newest episode of some comedy TV show.

Aizen frowned and the space between them turned into a forest. "You'll see later. And I don't want to put you into a jar. What gave you such a ridiculous idea- No! Don't answer it!"

"You're so much more likeable when you can't hide your thoughts." She turned her head around and took in their surroundings. "Where are we?"

"In the forest. Can't you see? We're starting the memory." He gestured around and walked between the trees while she followed. A few steps later they were standing by the road, next to which a river was flowing down.

"The eye did this, right? That eye." She tried to remember it's shape, just like Aizen did with his coat but nothing showed up aside from a few disturbances around her.

"Yes. And you can't bring up it's form because it doesn't have one. A concept like this is too abstract for you to imagine so vividly. That eye, sees and remembers many things in great detail for me." The shinigami said while he walked towards the river's bank. Several minutes later a loud splash reached their ears and they could make out a voice calling for help accompanied by barking.

Orihime gasped and sprang forward to see what was going on.

"That must be me." Aizen sighed as he strode after her.

When they reached the source of commotion the first think Orihime noticed was a young boy struggling with the current to reach safe ground. His messy dark brown hair were falling into his eyes and he kept trying to brush them away while a large dog with short gray fur attempted to reach him.

"Oh my God! You're drowning!" She squeaked in panic and grabbed the man next to her by the hem of his sleeve.

"That's not me." He informed while her eyes widened in confusion, then his focus fell on a someone at the edge of the river and he pointed a finger at the person behind her. " _That's_ me."

The girl made a surprised little sound and turned around. A boy even younger than the first one was squatting on a large rock, his long brown hair were held back by a red, ornate kercher and his white tunic seemed to be adorned in similar fashion as Aizen's current clothes.

"He looks no older than 10." She noticed when they walked closer.

"I was 26 at that time." Aizen replied to her remark while he looked his younger self over.

"What!? But you're so small!" Orihime exclaimed unable to focus back on the memory in front of them.

The smaller version of the current master of Hueco Mundo, however, turned her attention back to himself with a mocking call. "Serves you right for talking rubbish about me!" He taunted the other boy and stood up. "Good luck having your mutt drag you out of this!" He added and started to turnaround.

"What!? A-Are you going to leave me like t-this!?" The kid who was splashing in the water shouted a few curses and flailed his fist in the air while his other hand clutched the old dog, who kept pulling his owner towards the riverbank.

"You should be grateful I didn't tie a rock to your neck." The younger one casted him a glance through his shoulder before he turned away fully and trotted back to the road.

Orihime looked up at Aizen. "It really is you."

"Of course. I just said that." He shrugged and followed the memory of his younger self, prompting her to do the same. It had taken some strength of will for her to turn away from the older kid but knowing that it was only a projection helped her to hasten her already sluggish steps.

As soon as they caught up with the smaller Aizen a wagon full of hay pulled by a large horse slowly came into view. It was heading in their direction and the man riding it waved his hand cheerfully when he noticed the boy walking towards him. "Hey Saulé!" He called when the wagon rolled closer.

"Saulé?" Orihime gave Aizen a questioning look.

"I was known by that name a long time ago." He replied without sparing her a glance. Instead he watched himself sprint in the direction of the peasant who pulled the reins, making his horse halt.

"Why aren't you using this name anymore?" She asked while they caught up with the boy.

"Because it was taken from me." He stopped by the horse and stroked its mane. "Don't ask. You'll find out later." He said without giving her an opportunity to even think up the question. They turned their attention back to the memory instead.

"Hi Mikula!" Saulé greeted the old man. "Coming back from the fields?"

"Yes, yes. It's been a long day and my work for now is done. But why are you wandering around here alone? Do your guardians know that you're here all by yourself?"

"Ah! Yes they do!" The boy laughed awkwardly.

"No, they didn't." Aizen winced as he said that but Orihime was too preoccupied with the scene in front of her to mind his comment.

"Can I ride with you? The city is quite far away and it's going to get dark soon." Asked his younger self. Without hesitation, the old farmer laughed and outstretched his hand towards the child.

"Of course you can! How could I leave you here alone?" Mikula said as he pulled the boy up to the bench. He then yanked the reins and they were soon moving again. Both, Orihime and Aizen reappeared from the wagon's side to the top of the hay pile which startled her and almost made them fall off.

"Have some self control." He complained while he tried to regain his composure.

"That scared me." The girl replied and pushed herself toward the front of the wagon. It was rolling slowly along the bumpy road for a while and when they passed the spot where the older boy was crawling out of the river and cursing at Saulé, who leaned towards the old man.

"He threatened me. Better let's move faster." He whispered and watched as the farmer nodded and hastened his horse.

After a few minutes of listening to Saulé and Mikula chat about the fields and a monster that apparently lives there, they reached a crossing with a wide path that came out from the woods to their left. They turned in it's direction and rode silently between the trees, leaving behind the river road which wound up stretching ahead for many leagues.

"Take a good look around. I want you to remember this path." Aizen murmured to her despite the two projections not being able to hear or see them.

"Why? Will you want me to draw it for you?" She puzzled aloud and the question made him chuckle.

"It may be a good idea actually, but that's not the case. Focus on what's in front of you." He laid down on the hay and stared and the crowns of the trees as they passed them. "We're getting a hang on this." The man added with satisfaction. "I've never hung out in here for long."

"So, you've brought me here, not knowing if we will even be able to go through this memory? That was reckless." Orihime frowned and looked down at him. "I would never think that you'll do something like this."

"That's because you don't know me." He scowled.

"But I'm about to. Am I not?" She bit back.

"Maybe you are, or maybe you're not. Stop drilling me now! I don't want to think about it!" He took a fistfull of hay and threw it at her before he rolled over to face away.

"You're so childish." Her words sounded above him.

"I am. Now focus on something else. I didn't bring you in here to discuss my personality." Aizen muttered into his high collar in irritation.

They kept bickering like that for a while before the trees became more scarce and Orihime noticed a large aqueduct extending from the forest and following along the path. In a short time they arrived at the other end of the woods and there, in front of them stood a great city. It was triangular in shape and it's borders were marked by the tall walls made of wood and stone. The woodland path which they followed until now was leading straight to the large open gates by which stood a colossal limestone statue of an inhuman being. One of it's hands was outstretched above the entrance to take a hold on the top of a watchtower situated at the other side. A loose robe which seemed to be made to look like fire was draped around it and it's legs and feet were bare. It's head also looked like it was ablaze but the rest of it's body was fashioned in a way that resembled a tight, ornate armor.

"I think the eastern gate is my favourite." Saulé smiled brightly but the farmer sitting next to him only nodded his head.

"What is this thing?" Orihime turned to the man sprawled across the stack of hay, right next to her.

"A power." He grumbled and pushed himself up on his elbows. "One of the three. Each standing by it's own gate."

She looked back up at the statue as they were slowly getting closer to it. The setting sun was making the limestone glow on one side.

Aizen finally sat up and turned around to admire it. There was something nostalgic about it and a feeling of longing spread between him and the girl sitting at his side. He could not push it away like before and so he spoke to distract them from it.

"Welcome to the great city of Rodoga, the capital of the country of Navia." He announced while they were passing the gate along with the statue of the power that was guarding it.


End file.
